Naming the Parties - You begin the contract by naming the parties in the agreement. This may seem obvious, but attorney Mark Cohen of Colorado writes in his article Ten Things to Consider Before Signing a Contract that "a common error is to use the name of a person representing an entity rather than the name of the entity."

Compilations were frequent before the days of electronic research, and these compilations are frequently published in loose-leaf format. Additionally, treaties and conventions may also be found individually.